A Love Revisited
by ilovetvalot
Summary: Can two lost loves find their way back to each other. This is the conclusion of a trilogy. This story follows "The Story Behind the Story" and "Mischief Under the Mistletoe". Strauss/Rossi FIVESHOT
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: I want to thank our loyal readers that are sticking with us. I know my postings are sporadic these days and I apologize for it. I've received a couple of negative anonymous reviews over that very issue. Real life, especially mine, is complicated. Going from a loving two parent household to a single parent with a husband fighting in a dangerous war is difficult. I'm not asking for sympathy, just please be patient. I promise, I'm writing as fast as I can, but I want to bring you guys something of quality instead of garbage I wrote on the fly.**_

_**Also, we have two new open discussion threads. One is called, "Cyclones, Snowmageddon, and Egyptian Uprisings, OH MY!" Feel free to leave your best wishes for our friends in Australia and throughout the US suffering from the ravaging affects of Mother Nature. **_

_**And finally, as some of you may or may not know, there are some changes coming for our favorite show and we have opened a "Show Spoilers" thread for readers and authors to discuss their take on episodes and upcoming plotlines.**_

_**As ever, I don't own Criminal Minds.**_

_***This is the conclusion in a trilogy. This story follows "The Story Behind the Story" and "Mischief Under the Mistletoe". I hope it doesn't disappoint!**_

* * *

**A Love Revisited**

**Chapter One**

As David Rossi climbed the steps to Erin Strauss' brownstone, his heart thumped against his chest, rapidly counting the passing seconds. It had been a week…a very long, question-filled but amazing week…since he'd stolen a slow and passionate kiss from her in a darkened corner of the BAU.

And for seven days, he'd relived those moments again and again.

Repetitively.

In the shower. On the drive to work. While writing reports. And like clockwork, every night when he closed his eyes.

It was her hauntingly beautiful face he saw behind his closed lids...her lips he remembered moving beneath his, meeting every thrust of his tongue with one of her own. And if he concentrated, he could still catch a whiff of that alluring perfume she wore.

He found himself concentrating a lot these days.

If someone had told him a year ago that he'd be standing on Erin Strauss' doorstep, nervous as a teenage boy, complete with sweating hands and butterflies in his stomach, he'd have laughed his ass off at the sorry, misguided fool. Of course, due to recent life-changing events, namely Erin's massive heart attack and the startling revelation that the woman he'd once loved with an unrivaled passion was not the demon in human form that he'd assumed she was for a quarter of a century, the joke was on him.

In reality, he'd been wrong on a level that even now was incomprehensible to him, months after he'd learned the truth about the events of twenty-five years ago. For years, he'd blamed Erin, believing she'd aborted the child they'd created together. She'd endured his taunts and insults with dignity and grace, rarely firing back with ammunition of his own shortcomings and idiotic behavior. Though she'd had it...the ultimate trump card.

But, she had never played it. Not once in all those long years he'd made her suffer had she chosen to level the playing field.

He had learned the truth accidentally. Between a hospital nurse, Jason Gideon, and Erin's own fiercely loyal assistant, David Rossi had pieced together the horrible truth. And it had very nearly crippled him.

A violent home invasion had ended his child's life. Not her. She'd simply let him believe the story his own emotional mind had concocted at the time, believing it best for him in the long run. When the assault had robbed Erin of her ability to bear children, she'd thought it would leave him free to pursue the family he'd always wanted with another woman.

Another cosmic joke.

He'd never wanted another child after his life with Erin had ended; he never felt that desire again. And that was that.

Now, over two decades later, here he stood, fully cognizant of the truth and wondering if the woman inside the house in front of him would ever allow him close enough to apologize...to beg forgiveness down on one knee, if necessary.

When he'd finally pulled away from their embrace a week ago, she'd ran, figuratively and literally. Far and fast, fleeing to her eldest son's home in South Carolina, ostensibly for a long overdue visit. But he knew the truth. It had been too much, entirely too fast, for her. But, damn it...they'd wasted so many years that they could have spent together if only the lies and misconceptions hadn't stood between them. This age old animosity they'd shared had been completely pointless.

He'd tortured himself with if onlys...If only she hadn't married that idiotic jack-off….who had, indeed, been able to give her children after a series of treatments. If only he'd married her instead. If only he'd asked the questions that had hovered on the fringes of his mind for years.

Of course, none of that did him any good. He couldn't go back and alter their shared past, but he could influence their present and, hopefully, preserve what was left of their future.

Once he managed to convince himself to raise his hand and knock on the damn door, that was. Inhaling deeply, he focused on some potted plant on Erin's brick stoop, the red blooms almost mocking him and his indecision. He could have sworn the stupid flower was actually winking at him as he tried to find a pathway in his jumbled thoughts. How many women had he romanced over the years? Hell, he'd married three of them.

And never had he been this anxious.

What's the worst she can say, he asked himself. She'd agreed to try friendship; that was true. And for months, that's exactly what he'd focused on doing - being her friend. He'd carted her to and from to cardiologists and assorted other doctors. He'd hired a damn chef to prepare those heart conscious meals that she despised, and then forced her to eat every freaking bite. He'd talked and listened (a novel experience for him) as they'd attempted to rebuild the trust between them.

And then he'd pushed too hard, kissing her at that damned Christmas party. But, hell, he was who he was, and she'd known him a long time. She had to know that his motives weren't purely altruistic. This dance they'd been doing had been leading somewhere. At least for him, it had.

Until she'd run from him.

Again.

Well, enough was enough, he thought grimly, tightening his fingers around the bouquet of tulips he'd brought with him. Patting his jacket, he double checked that he had her Christmas gift. Smoothing his fingers over his trimmed goatee, he sent a hasty prayer heavenward. If ever he'd needed the help of a Higher Power, whatever deity it might be, it was now.

But he couldn't and wouldn't deny what was happening to him anymore. For the second time, he'd fallen head over heels in love with Erin Strauss. The difference was, this time he had the courage to fight for what he wanted. Even if it meant humbling himself.

* * *

_**Dedicated to my husband and all our heroes fighting overseas!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note: I want to thank our loyal readers that are sticking with us. I know my postings are sporadic these days and I apologize for it. I've received a couple of negative anonymous reviews over that very issue. Real life, especially mine, is complicated. Going from a loving two parent household to a single parent with a husband fighting in a dangerous war is difficult. I'm not asking for sympathy, just please be patient. I promise, I'm writing as fast as I can, but I want to bring you guys something of quality instead of garbage I wrote on the fly.**_

_**Also, we have two new open discussion threads. One is called, "Cyclones, Snowmageddon, and Egyptian Uprisings, OH MY!" Feel free to leave your best wishes for our friends in Australia and throughout the US suffering from the ravaging affects of Mother Nature. **_

_**And finally, as some of you may or may not know, there are some changes coming for our favorite show and we have opened a "Show Spoilers" thread for readers and authors to discuss their take on episodes and upcoming plotlines.**_

_**As ever, I don't own Criminal Minds.**_

_***This is the conclusion in a trilogy. This story follows "The Story Behind the Story" and "Mischief Under the Mistletoe". I hope it doesn't disappoint!**_

* * *

**A Love Revisited**

**Chapter Two**

Lifting his hand, he knocked firmly against the front door and listened as he heard feet pounding down the staircase beyond the door.

His smile, however, froze in place as the door opened, revealing an irritated Amanda Helm, Erin's dutiful assistant and dedicated henchwoman. "What are you doing here?" Dave groaned, his smile crumbling as he eyed the frowning young woman in front of him. Erin's assistant had been a proverbial thorn in his side for the past months, her tenacity and protectiveness having grown to epic proportions as she attempted to guard the woman he wanted to get closer to. Yes, they had worked out a form of a truce as time had passed, but Amanda had never fully forgiven him for inducing the very attack that caused her boss and quasi-mother to be harmed in the first place. And she obviously intended to make him pay, over and over again, as long as she deemed necessary.

"Well, hello to you, too, Agent Rossi. So good to see you again," she replied sarcastically, eyes narrowing on his face suspiciously. "May I help you?" she asked pointedly, not inviting him inside.

"Where's Erin?" Dave asked, trying to peer over the tiny woman's body and into the warmly lit home.

"Why?" Amanda asked warily, stepping outside and pulling the door almost closed behind her.

"I'm standing here with flowers and a goofy grin, Amanda," Dave replied impatiently, waving the tulips in her face. "Why do you think I want to see her?"

Raising an imperious eyebrow as she swatted at the flowers, Amanda shot him a scathing look. "Why do you do anything you do, Agent Rossi?"

Sighing, Dave met the younger woman's gaze squarely. He couldn't even be angry with her. God knew, he'd given her more than one reason over the recent years...hell, the recent months…to dislike him. Her loyalty to Erin was boundless. And since he'd spent the better part of twenty-five years being a prize bastard to the woman, Amanda's suspicions were completely grounded, in fact. "Amanda, you know I've been meek as a church mouse since Erin had a heart attack," he pointed out blandly, deciding to start with a slight concession in order to possibly win the war.

"You mean since you gave her a heart attack," Amanda countered, raising an eyebrow as she tapped her foot against the bricked front porch.

"Let's agree to disagree on that point," Dave murmured uncomfortably, his cheek flushing. He had been fighting with Erin at the time it had happened, but if he'd known... Shaking his head, he asked, "Are you going to let me see her voluntarily or am I going to have to pull a caveman routine, Mandy?" he asked pleasantly.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Amanda snorted. "That depends. Are you going to send my boss running for another week? What did you do to her anyway? I've never seen the Chief arrange a trip so fast."

Clearing his throat, Dave shifted on his feet. "Again, may I point out that I'm bringing flowers, Amanda?" he said lifting the blooms and avoiding her question. "How much trouble can I be looking for if I'm bringing flowers? And a gift," Dave added, pulling the wrapped box from the inside pocket of his jacket.

"The Chief doesn't accept bribes," Amanda huffed, eyeing the small package with a suspicious glare. "Especially from men that have made her life hell."

"You know," Dave said reasonably, "if Erin can try to forgive me my idiocy, can't you?"

"No," Amanda said flatly, her tone brooking no argument.

"You're really a tough nut, aren't you?" Dave said with grudging respect.

"No," Amanda smiled sweetly, tilting her head to the side. "I bust tough nuts. I believe you might know it by the term "ball buster"."

"You've really been working for Erin entirely too long," Dave chuckled, his smile growing in spite of the situation.

Rolling her eyes, Amanda huffed, "And I'd like to continue to work for her in the future," she stated, finally moving aside, her footsteps grudging. "Try not to kill her, will you?"

"She's safe with me, Amanda," Dave said softly, his voice genuine.

Pursing her lips, Amanda sniffed. "I find that highly doubtful. But, based on your offerings," she said, looking at the flowers and the gift with a critical eye, "I think you should know that the cardiologist told her on her last visit that she would not be ready for any...extracurricular activities until she could climb a flight of stairs without losing her breath."

"Is that so?" Dave drawled, his lips twitching as he easily deciphered the code being given to him.

"Very much so, Agent Rossi," Amanda returned evenly. "And the chief only made it to the eighth step. So, I repeat, do try not to kill her."

Barking with laughter, Dave watched as Amanda descended the front steps. "Tell the Chief I'll be back tomorrow. And make sure she takes her medication...especially before she...climbs any stairs."

And with that, Amanda Helm disappeared around the corner.

Taking a deep breath, Rossi entered the house and prepared for the coming encounter.

"Erin?" his deep voice called, closing the door behind him.

"David?" he heard her voice call back and the way she said it, half questioning shock, half groan made him smile. His mission had been achieved; he'd caught her off guard. Evidently her son had kept his secret when he'd finally broken down and made a desperate phone call last night. Sometimes, scotch fueled communication did actually work out.

Walking toward the sound of her voice, he skated around the entry table, lined with family pictures of her and her children and he paused for a moment, one snapshot drawing his eye. Taking a backward step, he smiled as he viewed a picture of them, taken over twenty-five years ago. It was in the back, true. But it was there.

And that alone inspired hope for the future, fragile as it might be.

* * *

_**Dedicated to my husband and all our heroes fighting overseas!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note: I want to thank our loyal readers that are sticking with us. I know my postings are sporadic these days and I apologize for it. I've received a couple of negative anonymous reviews over that very issue. Real life, especially mine, is complicated. Going from a loving two parent household to a single parent with a husband fighting in a dangerous war is difficult. I'm not asking for sympathy, just please be patient. I promise, I'm writing as fast as I can, but I want to bring you guys something of quality instead of garbage I wrote on the fly.**_

_**And finally, as some of you may or may not know, there are some changes coming for our favorite show and we have opened a "Show Spoilers" thread for readers and authors to discuss their take on episodes and upcoming plotlines.**_

_**As ever, I don't own Criminal Minds.**_

_***This is the conclusion in a trilogy. This story follows "The Story Behind the Story" and "Mischief Under the Mistletoe". I hope it doesn't disappoint!**_

* * *

**A Love Revisited**

**Chapter Three**

Walking slowly into the living room, he didn't immediately see her, her eyes scanning rapidly around the large room.

And then he wished that he hadn't.

"Damn it, Erin! What the hell are you doing?" he yelled, lurching forward as she teetered precariously on the ladder in the far corner of the room.

"Building rockets," she muttered coolly, making another swipe with the rag in her hand at the spider's web that had taken up residence above the bookcase during her recuperation. Rolling her eyes as she finished her mission, she added, "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"It looks like you're trying to give me the fucking heart attack this time," Dave growled as his hands automatically curled around her hips, steadying her, the tulips long forgotten and dropped to the floor. "Why the hell are you cleaning? Didn't I hire you somebody to do that?"

"Yes," Erin nodded, feeling a sense of satisfaction as her pink rag finally swiped the fine web, dislodging it. "I fired her."

"What?" Dave yelped, tightening his grip on her as she began to climb down the ladder. "Why the hell would you do that? It was a perfectly reputable establishment and I had Garcia run her references and background check myself. She was clean."

Stepping out of Dave's firm grip as she reached the floor, Erin shook her head determinedly. "First, I'm not an invalid. I've been cleaning up my own messes and my children's for forty-five years. I see no reason that I can't continue doing so. I've completed that ridiculous cardiac rehab that you and Amanda banded together and insisted I have, and I am perfectly able to do my own household chores. Second, I do not enjoy having strangers in my home, no matter how highly recommended they are. I enjoy my privacy, something that has been a fairly precious commodity in recent months. And third, I like to clean. It's therapeutic. Any other questions?"

"Just one," Dave retorted, narrowing his eyes as he quickly gauged her breathing and her obvious lack of discomfort.

Offering him a raised eyebrow, Erin replied, "What?"

"If you can only make it to the eighth step without having to catch your breath, how the hell do you find it acceptable to climb a fucking ladder?" Dave barked, jabbing an accusing finger at the evidence.

Sighing, Erin rolled her eyes. "You've been talking to Amanda, I take it?"

"Saw her on the way inside," Dave grunted. "And don't avoid the question," he ordered evenly, meeting Erin's serene gaze.

"I faked it," Erin said with a shrug.

"Pardon?" Dave asked, his jaw falling.

"She wanted me to get back on the wretched treadmill in the exercise room upstairs, and I didn't want to. So, I simply feigned weakness. It worked. She decided that we'd call it a day and depart. And left me to freely enjoy my afternoon. Until you showed up," she ended pointedly.

"You manipulated your loyal sidekick," Dave gaped, a slow grin spreading across his face. If Erin was back to her old tactics, she was well on the road to a full recovery.

"I did not!" she denied, shaking her head as she crossed her sweater-covered arms. "I simply redirected her attention elsewhere," she sniffed.

"Cunning and conniving Erin is back in play," Dave grinned, rubbing his hands together. "It would be such a pity if the dedicated Amanda learned that her hero's halo had fallen off her head, too."

Erin paled as she narrowed her eyes. "You wouldn't."

"Maybe, maybe not. My silence comes with a price, however," Dave bargained.

"Doesn't it always?" Erin sighed, moving around Dave to drop her rag into her cleaning caddy. "What do you want, David?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Just a few answers to some pertinent questions. Nothing too strenuous. For now," he replied, following her movements with an interested gaze.

"Fine," Erin muttered, sitting on the sofa and reaching for the glass of lemonade on the side table. "Ask your questions."

"Cooperative," Dave mused, closing the distance between them to sit on the couch beside her. "This is new. Should I be suspicious?"

"The sooner I answer, the sooner, you, too, will depart," Erin retorted as she half-smiled. "There is a method to my madness."

"We'll argue that point later," Dave snorted, raising an eyebrow at her. Settling against the cushions as she toyed with the hem of her shirt, he commented, "I missed you, you know."

Stiffening, Erin averted her gaze toward the window. "I somehow doubt that, David. You spent years avoiding my presence. You should be used to it."

"Things changed, Erin," Dave reminded her softly, stretching his arm over the back of the overstuffed sofa.

"Nothing changed," Erin countered, turning to gaze coldly at him. "You found out my secret and now you feel sorry for me. Obligated to me," she spat. "I neither want nor need your pity, David."

"Oh, would you save it," Dave replied sharply, shaking his head as he dropped his hand to her shoulder. "You got scared and ran, Erin. We shared a very powerful kiss that reminded you of what it was once like between us, and it scared the hell out of you."

"Don't flatter yourself," Erin dismissed him, shaking her head and shrugging his touch away. "That kiss was passable at best."

"So passable that it sent you running blind? Again. It's what you do, babe. Something traumatic happens and you shut it down and avoid it. But not this time. This time, I'm not going to get mad and call you names. I'm not going to make assumptions. I'm going to sit right here until we work it out."

Nostrils flaring, Erin lifted her chin as she stiffened her shoulders. "Prepare to take root then, David," she said, pressing her hands against the cushions as she prepared to rise.

"I don't think so," Dave shook his head, his hand darting out to shackle her wrist and pull her back down. "Not this time. I was fool enough to allow you to escape me twice now...it won't happen a third time."

Jerking her arm from his grip, Erin glared at him. "You know what? Tell Amanda that I was dishonest if you choose. I'd rather deal with her wrath than your empty words."

And as Dave stared into Erin's flashing eyes, he knew battle lines were being drawn.

* * *

_**Dedicated to my husband and all our heroes fighting overseas!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who has been patiently waiting for our stories to be posted. We appreciate your support and apologize for any delays. Real life, however, has taken precedence! We always want to be able to provide you with quality stories and chapters, so our postings may be a bit sporadic over the next month.**_

_**Please check out our most recent challenge on our forum – March Madness! The guidelines are simple: You suggest a pairing and choose a TV title from the list provided (shows are from the 70s, 80s, and 90s). We'll assign out the pairings & suggestions by March 4, and you have until March 31 to create just the perfect story based on the prompts you receive. Your final story does NOT have to be about the TV show prompt, but you do have to use the TV show title in the story somehow. Check out our forum, Chit Chat on Author's Corner, for details and to sign up…you can find a link on our profile pages.**_

_**As always, we do not own Criminal Minds or any of the characters that we so enjoy writing. If we did own them, we would have never had JJ leave!**_

* * *

__**A Love Revisited**

**Chapter Four**

"Fan-fucking-tastic, Erin," Dave groaned, scrubbing a hand down his face before looking at her again. "Two steps forward, one step back," he sighed with a shake of his dark head. "But it's still progress."

"We're not progressing anywhere, David. You're leaving," Erin ordered, jabbing a finger imperiously toward the door.

Dave smirked as he cocked one dark brow. "Unless you plan on moving me yourself, I don't think I am."

Erin barely resisted the urge to stomp her foot as she caught the determined glint in his eyes. He was telling the truth. Unless she was prepared to either shoot him or call the police, he wasn't moving. And since she hated public spectacles and bloodstains on her furniture, she appeared to be stuck with him.

Inhaling deeply, Erin crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you want from me, David?" she asked quietly. "I appreciate that you saved my life. Deeply."

"I don't want your fucking gratitude, Erin," Dave ground out, the desire to shake some sense into her riding high. "I want answers. Why did you run away from me this time?"

Shaking her head in frustration, she denied, "I didn't run from you this time because there wasn't a last time, David! I've never ran. Not twenty-five years ago and not last week!"

"You're right," David agreed slowly. "You didn't run two decades ago. I did," he admitted roughly. "I made fucked up assumptions and accusations. I said and did unforgiveable things..."

"The past is the past for a reason, David," Erin said stiffly, swallowing tightly. "What good does dredging it up do? It changes nothing. Neither of us can change the decisions we made."

"Because I need to apologize for my goddamned part in it," Dave exploded, his brow furrowing deeply. "I fucked it up. I lost you because I refused to open my eyes and see what was going on. I'm not making that mistake again. And I'm damn sure not going to let you do it either."

"Let. This. Go," Erin whispered, her voice almost broken as she tried to forget the past, hard as that might be.

Dave shook his head as he kept his fingers wrapped around her thin wrist. "I can't. Not again. And while you didn't run back then, you did run last week."

"I went to visit my son," Erin sighed, blinking once. "Hardly running, David."

"Fine, you were avoiding. Specifically, you were avoiding me. Us."

"There is no us, David," Erin replied softly.

"If you really believe that, Erin, you haven't been paying attention these last months," Dave snorted. "In case you've neglected to notice the obvious, I'm still in lo-"

"Don't you dare say it!" Erin shouted, turning to slam her hand against Dave's chest. "Don't you dare!" she breathed, enraged.

"Why the hell not?" Dave asked, covering the hand against his chest with his own. "It's the truth. I'm a lot of things, Erin, but I've never been a liar."

"Unlike me," Erin choked, her chest tightening, not from her recovery but from the emotion threatening to overtake her. "You know me, too, David. And you know how much I despise pity in any capacity."

"This is NOT pity," Dave yelled, wondering how loudly he'd have to scream that fact before she heard him.

Licking her dry lips, Erin clenched her hand into a fist beneath his. "I'm supposed to believe that after years of hatred and animosity, that you suddenly feel differently. Suddenly, I'm not the Anti-Christ."

"I found out the truth, Erin. And if you remember, I always valued the truth. The truth was that you never wanted out. You never aborted our child. You weren't guilty of anything. Do you know how much it hurts to know that not only did I abandon you when you needed me most...that I tortured you with it. Year after year, I made you pay for something you'd never done. Something you never would have done."

"So this is guilt," Erin said starkly, her cheeks paling as she swallowed convulsively. The ticking of the mantle clock seemed to grow louder for a moment as her surroundings became vibrant, alive…only to fade into oblivion as the roaring in her ears overtook everything else.

"No! Yes! Fuck, I don't know! All I know is that I love you. A part of me always loved you. It's true that I had to learn it the hard way. I mean, dying in my fucking arms was a bit of overkill to get your point across, but I got the damn message!"

"You are confusing guilt with love, David," Erin said sadly, her throat tightening as she felt herself suddenly growing unable to speak.

Lips tightening, Dave stared at her resolved face. He could feel his chance slipping further and further from his grasp. "You're wrong, Erin."

"Even if I am, it's too late," she whispered. "Too much water is underneath the bridge, David. This friends thing..." she faltered, her chest constricting, "it's too difficult. Being enemies was infinitely easier," she said with a weak laugh.

"Well it's a good thing I'm no longer interested in being your friend. And that I'm even less interested than that in being your enemy. I've tried them both and found them lacking," Dave retorted.

"Then what the hell do you want from me?" Erin moaned, lifting a shaking hand to her throbbing temple.

"That depends," Dave replied. Narrowing one eye, he asked, "Can you really climb a flight of stairs with no trouble and don't lie to me, Erin."

"What?" Erin asked blankly.

"Answer the question," he snapped, his eyes boring into hers.

"Well, yes, but what does that have to do...David!" she gasped as strong arms swept her abruptly off the sofa, her arms automatically winding around his neck as he strode purposefully toward the stairs. "What are you doing?" she yelped, frowning as they passed through the foyer and she spotted a discarded bouquet of tulips lying almost pitifully on her hardwood floor. "And where did those flowers come from?" she asked, pointing over his shoulder.

"Me? I'm showing you what the hell I want from you?" Dave retorted, his foots landing heavily against the staircase. "And the tulips were part of my peace offering. At least until you scared the crap out of me with your ladder acrobatics."

Blinking rapidly as he strode into her bedroom, Erin gasped as she felt herself dropped on the bed, her body bouncing slightly in the center of the king-sized mattress. Eyes widening as she watched David shrug out of his jacket, she shook her head. "What in the name of hell are you doing?"

"You know," Dave said conversationally as he reached for the first button on his shirt, "for someone so intelligent, you seem determined to ask a lot of stupid questions."

Jaw dropping as the shirt came off, Erin babbled, "You don't actually think we're going to..."

Lips quirking as he dropped on knee to the mattress, one hand on either side of Erin as she fell back against the pillows, Dave whispered against her slack lips, "I don't think, babe. I know."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who has been patiently waiting for our stories to be posted. We appreciate your support and apologize for any delays. Real life, however, has taken precedence! We always want to be able to provide you with quality stories and chapters, so our postings may be a bit sporadic over the next month.**_

_**Please check out our most recent challenge on our forum – March Madness! The guidelines are simple: You suggest a pairing and choose a TV title from the list provided (shows are from the 70s, 80s, and 90s). We'll assign out the pairings & suggestions by March 4, and you have until March 31 to create just the perfect story based on the prompts you receive. Your final story does NOT have to be about the TV show prompt, but you do have to use the TV show title in the story somehow. Check out our forum, Chit Chat on Author's Corner, for details and to sign up…you can find a link on our profile pages.**_

_**As always, we do not own Criminal Minds or any of the characters that we so enjoy writing. If we did own them, we would have never had JJ leave!**_

* * *

**A Love Revisited**

**Chapter Five**

"You have officially lost what little mind you had left in your advanced years, David," Erin frowned, squirming up the bed to press her back against the headboard, her hands suddenly pushing against his shoulders as he advanced.

"That is not what you used to say when I started taking off my clothes, Bella."

"Don't call me that," Erin retorted.

"I always called you that," Dave countered, gripping her hips and pulling her toward him.

"That was a lifetime ago," Erin declared as she shook her head automatically. God, how easy would it be to simply fall back in his arms and resume where they'd left things all those years ago? But that was madness, wasn't it? It had to be insane. It couldn't work.

But as his lips found that spot on her neck that only he'd ever managed to find and his hands slid over her body with an easy familiarity, she found herself softening against her will. "David, this won't work," she whispered even as her fingers combed through the dark hair at the back of his neck.

"Worked pretty damn well for us before, Sweetheart. And it feels like it's working again," he murmured, his thumb grazing her aroused breast underneath her sweater.

Gasping as his thumb tantalized and aching peak, Erin shivered. "This is such a bad idea."

Chuckling against her neck, Dave lifted his head to stare down into her blue eyes. "Give us another chance, Bella. We'll do it right this time. I'll do things right this time," he amended.

"I don't know," she whispered uncertainly, torn between the love she'd always felt for him and the need to guard what remained of her heart. "I want to trust you, David. I really do. But I lost my faith a long time ago."

Lifting a hand to brush her cheek tenderly, he said softly, "I've got enough faith for both of us. I can't make you believe me, Erin. But I won't let you tell me how I feel. I love you. Not out of pity or guilt or anything else. I love you. In all these years, I've never felt more alive than when I was with you...whether we were making love or sparring. You make me work for it. You challenge me. You make me think."

"If you're to be believed, I sound like one bossy bitch," Erin reluctantly smiled as she stared back at him, no longer squirming away from his touch.

"You are one bossy bitch," Dave grinned back. "In all the best ways," he whispered deeply, dipping his head to brush her lips. "Give me a chance to do this right, Erin...to be the man I was supposed to have been twenty-five years ago."

"We can't go back," Erin breathed, her words true in spite of the hopes filling her mind. "It's just not possible, David."

"Maybe not," he agreed, sweeping his fingers against her hips. "But we can go forward together. Unless..." he faltered, lifting his head to gaze down at her.

"Unless, what?" Erin asked, seeing the unspoken worry in his eyes.

"Unless you don't love me, Erin," he replied softly. "Is that it? Did I kill it?" he asked, his eyes shining with pain and remorse as he waited not-so-patiently for her answer.

"David," she whispered, lifting her hand to touch his cheek, her movement an unconscious reaction. "No."

"No?" he repeated hopefully.

"No," she sighed. "You didn't kill it."

"So..." he hedged, needing to hear the words...needing some confirmation that he wasn't completely off base.

Closing her eyes, Erin gathered her strength. Making this confession...it could be her undoing. Or her salvation. And for the life of her, she wasn't sure which it would ultimately be. "I love you. I always loved you. Even when I hated you, I loved you. Happy, now?" she asked almost petulantly.

Relief flooded him as her soft words penetrated. Dropping his forehead against hers, he whispered, "You know you're never getting away now, Bella."

Smiling tremulously, she swallowed the lump in her throat. "We'll see, David. But you know that loving each other doesn't solve all our problems," she reminded him.

"It's a place to start," he countered, pressing a kiss against her lips. "And now," he murmured, gently sliding her sweater over her head, "I'd like to move on to the next stage. I believe some call it a reunion," he smiled, pressing a gentle kiss to her throat as his hand found the clasp of her bra.

Gasping as his lips found one breast, Erin shuddered. "David!" she gasped.

Releasing her long enough to stare down into her stunned, flushed face, he warned, "I swear to God, Bella, if you have a heart attack on me while we're making love, that is something I won't forgive. I'll fire Amanda myself."

"David, do shut up. I believe you said we were reuniting," Erin murmured, burying her fingers in his hair and pulling his lips to hers.

And no further words were spoken for a very long time.

_**X/X**_

Several hours later, Dave smiled, turning his head to gaze at the woman's head resting on the pillow next to him. Even after all these years, she was still the most beautiful creature God ever made.

But something was missing.

"Stop staring at me, David," she sighed, smiling as she stretch languorously beside him. She'd used muscles she'd forgotten she had in the last few hours, and her body wasn't shy about reminding her of it.

"Stop being beautiful then," Dave retorted, reaching for his discarded jacket on the floor beside the bed. Searching through the pockets, Dave smiled as he wrapped his fingers around her gift. "I brought you something," he said, dropping the box on her bare stomach. "Or maybe I should say, I'm returning something."

Cracking one eyelid, Erin eyed him suspiciously. "Is there a bomb in here?" she asked, fingering the box warily.

Lifting his lips, Dave chuckled. "I'm pretty sure I already dropped all of those, Babe. You're safe. Open it."

"Hmm," Erin hummed, scooting up in bed. Shaking it carefully, she shot him a curious look. "You didn't have to give me anything, David."

"Open the damn present, Bella," he ordered gruffly, propping a pillow behind his head.

Tearing the paper carefully, Erin pulled out a simple black box. Popping the lid, she gasped. "Is this..." she choked, her eyes filling with tears.

"Your locket?" Dave supplied, sliding his arm around her and pulling her closer once again, "Yes," he nodded, trying to block out the image of ripping it off her neck all those years ago when she'd sat silent and still as he'd condemned her.

"But...it broke," she whispered, the same memory flashing in her mind. "And these diamonds..." she said, her finger dragging over the gems edging the heart.

"One for each of the years we were separated," Dave said softly. "I had them added."

Shaking her head as a tear rolled down her cheek, she opened the necklace, their picture, a little faded with age, still nestled exactly where it had always been. "You kept it," she whispered.

"I told you...a part of me never stopped loving you. I couldn't let it go...not even back to you, Babe," Dave explained. "No matter where I was, I always had a part of us," he said, nodding toward the jewel dangling from her fingertips. "Lean up, Bella. Let me put it back where it belongs."

Obeying mindlessly, Erin wiped her cheeks as he fastened the locket around her neck. "I can't believe you kept this, all these years," she whispered when he pulled her back against his chest again, her fingers caressing the pendent lovingly. "Thank you."

"Don't ever thank me, Erin. Not for this. This necklace," he whispered, his hand slipping over her shoulder to finger the gold and diamond pendent, "should never have left your neck. But this is our new beginning. We're taking something old and bringing the sparkle back to it. That's why I added the diamonds. You and I are going to be much like this necklace. The same love with a little value added," he whispered against her ear.

Turning Erin met David's eyes. "I love you," she whispered, the three words coming easily and without thought.

And this time, there wasn't an ounce of doubt in her voice. This time, she knew it was forever.

_**Finis**_


End file.
